


A Menagerie of Desperation

by OverthinkingMind



Category: Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Missing Scene, POV First Person, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverthinkingMind/pseuds/OverthinkingMind
Summary: "When I woke up, I was a Phylot."Cravex finds himself trapped in an abandoned zoo that leads to the Lost Shrine. Unable to transform back into his human form, he sees that the other knights and lords have met the same fate. Infuriated, he develops an idea. As he attempts to make his escape, he can't help but wonder to himself; why does it feel like he might be forgetting someone?
Relationships: Cravex/Mortdred
Kudos: 2





	A Menagerie of Desperation

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a huge thank you to The-06 on Tumblr for beta reading the story. Without her, I don't think I would ever finish it.
> 
> This ficlet takes place during the "The Trail of the Three Wizards" episode, somewhere about halfway through the second act.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy!

When I woke up, I was a Phylot. I was trapped in a large but cramped, hanging bird cage; the pole was bolted to the floor. I stayed balled up as I tried to concentrate on my human form as hard as I could. The image was there, but nothing happened.

I lifted my head, and through the gray bars I saw that my fellow Darkling Lords and those damned Spectral Knights had met the same fate as I. Growling, biting, screaming, begging to escape from their own captivity in this accused zoo. That lying wizard summoned those golems to waste our time, and now we’re caged away like the animals we are.

I cannot accept this. _Never!_

I bellowed out a screech that could freeze the hearts of men as I thrashed about. I shouldn’t have let Darkstorm convince me to help him find the Lost Shrine! I didn’t want anything to do with magic! I didn’t want to think about magic! Even Mortdred didn’t want anything to do with this stupid “quest”! I’m amazed that he can actually come to a disagreement with Darkstorm. I wish he would do it more often.

My thoughts were interrupted as the cage swung close to the edge of the hook, but it fell back into place. I stopped; as the cage’s momentum slowed, it dawned on me. It was worth a shot; I can’t stand it here any longer! I threw myself as hard as I could against the bars, again and again; until the final swing to the edge, and I found myself falling.

It felt as though time had slowed down, but freedom was within my grasp! And yet, I couldn’t help but look over to where Mortdred was. Trapped in a glass box on a stone table, staring at me, his antennae twitching in every direction. I don’t know what possessed me, but I couldn’t leave him there. Forever trapped, alone, in this place. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t -

**BANG!**

When I woke up, I was still a Phylot inside a cage; now dented and scratched. My body ached everywhere, but I was next to that table. Maybe? There was broken glass and a beetle crawling to me. Mortdred? I extended a wing and he picked up his pace. When he passed through the bars, I grabbed him and hid him away from the stone golems’ sights. One of them grabbed the cage and we were hung back up, it bent the hook until it was closed it off. It walked off without a second thought as the others were blaring about the beetle’s escape.

The knights’ desperate cries and the golems’ calls for the beetle’s return faded into the background. I stayed curled up, worn from my failed escape attempt. It did nothing for us. We’re all doom to stay animals for the rest of our lives! But it doesn’t matter now. If this is where we’ll be, then I won’t whine or cry about our unjust fate. I felt something brushing my beak and there was Mortdred tapping his little antennae, staring with those beady eyes of his. I sighed as I closed my eyes, trying to sleep the nightmare away with Mortdred as my only comfort.

When I woke up, I was a man again. I sat up as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, there was Mortdred on his knees, yelling through the bars for someone to release us. I couldn’t help but smile.

If this was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. Not yet, at least.


End file.
